Analytics
Understand product and web traffic. Browse the 11 parent tools below — each has a dedicated page with up to 10 indie or bootstrapped alternatives, plus pricing, founders, and where applicable, open-source flags.
Google Analytics 4 is free, complicated, and ships your visitors' data through Google's ad pipeline. Most startups don't need a fraction of what GA4 offers — and most users would rather not be tracked through it. The indie privacy-first crop (Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics, Pirsch) gives you the 10 metrics you actually look at, with no cookie banner required in most jurisdictions.
What to look for
- EU-hosted data (or the ability to choose) if you have European users
- Cookieless tracking that doesn't trigger GDPR/CCPA banner requirements
- A real GA4 import — not just a 'we have a comparison page'
- Per-page goal tracking without setting up a tag manager
Common gotchas
- Free tiers capped at low pageview counts that don't survive a HN spike
- 'Privacy-friendly' tools that still rely on third-party cookies under the hood
- Funnel analysis behind a $99+/mo tier when a single signup funnel is all you need
Editor's pick
Plausible and Fathom are the two everyone reaches for first. PostHog if you need product analytics, session replay, and feature flags in one place. Pirsch is the quiet German option worth a look for EU teams.
Top tools in Analytics
← All categoriesGoogle Analytics
Free, omnipresent web analytics.
Mixpanel
Product analytics for events and funnels.
Amplitude
Digital analytics for product teams.
PostHog
All-in-one product analytics suite.
Hotjar
Heatmaps, session replays and feedback.
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly web analytics.
Pirsch Analytics
Privacy-friendly web analytics from Germany.
Simple Analytics
Privacy-first, simple web analytics.
Segment
Customer data platform.
Splitbee
Analytics by Vercel (acquired).
LiveSession
Session replay analytics.